Perspective
by Remember.E
Summary: The first time Mulder saw Scully run, they were in Southwest Idaho, chasing a couple of kids through an abandoned military airbase.


Author's Note: Not being Chris Carter, I own nothing.

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The first time Mulder saw Scully run, they were in Southwest Idaho, chasing a couple of kids through an abandoned field outside a military airbase. Helicopter lights wavered overhead, the brilliant white glare cutting broad swaths of light through the darkness of the night sky. The unsteady lighting disorientated him somewhat, but he kept his eyes fixed on the two fleeing figures before him and sprinted on, praying that he wouldn't catch his foot in an empty rabbit hole and end up breaking his ankle. He was used to running -- he did a lap or two around the park whenever he wasn't too engrossed in an X-File to leave his office at a decent time -- and his long legs easily narrowed the distance between him and his quarry.

Mulder was not a vain man by nature, but he was well aware of approximately how fast he could move when the occasion called for it. Stamina had never been much of an issue with him; when he had first applied to join the Bureau, he had completed the running component of his physical readiness test with ease, covering the requisite 1.5 miles well under the twelve-minute time limit. He enjoyed a good bonding session with his couch and television as much as the next person, but when push came to shove, the fact remained that Fox Mulder could move pretty fast when he wanted to.

As he charged through the field at breakneck speed, though, hoping against hope that the rabbit population had somehow skipped that particular patch of southwest Idaho, he became dimly aware that there was someone running almost directly behind him. Up until that moment, he had almost forgotten that Scully was with him, so intent was he on catching those kids and getting some answers to the myriad of questions crowding through his head. Risking a quick glance over his shoulder, though, he realized that instead of returning to the car, she had followed his headlong rush into the field and was in fact matching him almost pace for pace.

During the few months since Scully had been assigned to him and the X-Files, Mulder had seen her move at some fairly brisk speeds. Her natural gait, to begin with, was quick and firm, with none of the meandering tendencies that might have accompanied a woman of lesser purpose and determination. He had watched her jog across the road in order to reach the pavement before the light turned red for pedestrians and green for vehicles; and on one memorable occasion, she had arrived at their basement office suffering from severe caffeine deprivation and had run straight for the coffee machine, high heels and all.

Speaking of high heels, he still had no idea how she could even walk in those damned things, let alone run in them; yet here she was, moving faster than he'd ever imagined she could, sprinting beside him through a dark field with apparently no fear of catching her foot in anything whatsoever. Rabbit holes, uneven ground, loose pebbles, unexpected potholes -- the woman feared nothing.

It was amazing.

_She _was amazing.

The first time Mulder saw Scully run, he was incredibly afraid that she would fall and break her neck. Years later, he was still amazed that she hadn't. On a deeper, more deniable level, though, he was also incredibly afraid because he didn't know what he would do if anything should happen to her. Somewhere over the past few months, she had won his respect. And winning his respect was dangerously close to winning his trust.

The first time Mulder saw Scully run, he didn't see a spy. He didn't see a woman, or doctor, or a scientist. The first time Mulder saw Scully run, he saw his partner.

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_Thanks for the reviews! Unexpected, but very very welcome._

_BeshterAngelus: So am I. I'm newly amazed every time I re-watch an episode._

_Oneturtledove: Thanks for the very encouraging comments! They mean a lot to me, coming from someone whose writing I enjoy as much as yours._

_AllyBallyBee: Thanks so much! It's always amazed me how Scully could possibly charge around in those shoes the ways she does, so I started out writing about that, and somewhere along the way, it turned into a moment that Mulder might have found meaningful. Thanks for the fantastic feedback!_

_MelodiousVengeance: I'm running out of ways to say thank you for all the incredibly encouraging feedback I've been receiving, but.. thank you. Your review means a lot to me!  
_


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